South China Sea
The South China Sea is bordered by China to the north, Indonesia and Malaysia to the south, Taiwan and the Philippines to the east, and Vietnam and Thailand to the west and has become an increasing flash point in Southeast Asia, because each of those countries lays claim to the Spratley and Paracel Islands. Historically, China has asserted sovereignty over the South China Sea, and with its adoption in 1992 of the Law on the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Areas of the People's Republic of China, it laid claim to the Spratley and Paracel Islands. It built an airstrip and military outpost there and delineated a 12-nautical-mile zone of territorial waters and 200-nautical-mile economic zone, as allowed by international law. China also claims the right accorded to archipelago nations to extend the lines of maritime sovereignty contiguously from the edge of the territory back to the mainland, which encompasses some 800,000 square kilometers of ocean.
Further Reading
Hull, Richard E. (1996) The South China Sea: Future Source of Prosperity or Conflict in Southeast Asia. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University, Institute for National Strategic Studies.
Samuels, Marwyn S. (1982) Contest for the South China Sea. New York: Methuen.
Valencia, Mark J. (1995) China and the South China Sea Disputes: Conflicting Claims and Potential Solution in the South China Sea. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
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